How Fast Can Chlamydia Be Treated

What Happens If You Dont Get Treated For Chlamydia

Even though chlamydia is common and doesnt usually cause any symptoms, it can become a big deal if its not caught and treated early.

Chlamydia can spread to your uterus and fallopian tubes if it goes untreated for a long time. This can cause you to have pelvic inflammatory disease . PID can cause permanent damage that leads to pain, infertility, or ectopic pregnancy. So getting tested regularly for chlamydia really lowers your chances of getting PID.

If you have a penis, a chlamydia infection can spread to your epididymis if its left untreated, and can cause chronic joint pain. Rarely, it can make you infertile.

Having chlamydia may increase your chances of getting or spreading HIV.

If you have chlamydia during your pregnancy and dont treat it, you can pass it to your baby when youre giving birth. Chlamydia can also cause eye infections and pneumonia in newborns, and it also increases the risk of delivering your baby too early.

Testing and treatment for chlamydia is quick, easy, and the best way to avoid all of these problems.

Does Azithromycin Also Cure Chlamydia

Azithromycin was the first choice antibiotic to treat chlamydia until February 2019 when BASHH guidance was issued recommending a 7-day course of doxycycline as the first choice treatment based on recent data. Azithromycin is now recommended only for pregnant women and those with an allergy to doxycycline.

How Long Can You Have Chlamydia Without Knowing Years Or Months

How long can you have chlamydia without knowing is a common question after an unprotected sexual contact.

What is chlamydia infection?

Chlamydia infection, caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, is a common sexually transmitted infection that affects both men and women. In the united stated, more than 1.4 million new cases of chlamydia are detected yearly.

Chlamydia can affect the eyes , the joints, the vagina, anus and the penis. It may sometimes cause infertility if left untreated in men and women.

In women, chlamydia infection can ascend up the genital tracts resulting to pelvic inflammatory disease with symptoms like fever, abdomen pain and difficulty conceiving.

Chlamydia trachomatis infection is transmitted through

• Unprotected anal intercourse

If youve had intercourse with these symptoms, then its likely you have chlamydia. You should inform your doctor ASAP or get a chlamydia test kit to detect chlamydia.

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What Are The Prominent Chlamydia Symptoms In Men

Actually, no one can easily ensure that his body has some trouble due to the silent infection because its symptoms are rarely reflected. But once if they start occurring then they can be easily noticed even within few weeks. Medical doctors say that symptoms of Chlamydia in men can be random and infrequent so most of the time patients are not able to know if they are in contact with the infection.

Some of the most common signs of Chlamydia in men include:

• Very small cloudy or clear Chlamydia discharge in men from penis tip.
• It can cause painful urination.
• Leads to itching and burning sensation around penis openings.
• Swelling and pain in the area surrounding testicles.

Major symptoms of Chlamydia are observed for genitals but in few cases it can affect rectum, eyes and throat. Note that, the actual effect varies with type of transmission. Few uncommon symptoms of chlamydia in men can include:

• Throat infections.
• Rectal bleeding, discharge or pain.

When Should I Get Tested For Stds

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What Is An Std Incubation Period

An incubation period is the span of time from when you first come in contact with an STD to when antibodies form to fight the STD1). Tests look for the presence of these antibodies during testing2), and if you do not wait until the incubation period has ended, you may not allow your body sufficient time to develop enough antibodies for it to show up in testing, causing a false-negative result.

Even after you have waited for the incubation period to end, you may not see signs or symptoms of the STD. Many STDs do not display symptoms at all or are so subtle that you could think you have a cold or a rash. Your symptoms come and go, but this doesnt mean the STD has gone away. This is why its so important to get tested there is simply no other way to be 100% sure of an STD diagnosis.

Whats The Treatment For Chlamydia

Chlamydia is usually easy to get rid of. Your nurse or doctor will get you antibiotics to treat the infection. Sometimes you only have to take one dose of medication. Another chlamydia treatment lasts for 7 days. Your doctor will help you figure out which treatment is best for you.

If youre treated for chlamydia, its really important for your sexual partners to get treated also. Otherwise, you can keep passing the infection back and forth, or to other people. Sometimes your doctor will give you medicine for both you and your partner.

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When Should Someone Seek Medical Care For Chlamydia

The most urgent time to seek medical care for a chlamydial infection is when an individual is pregnant and has had recent sexual exposure to an infected individual and/or has developed early symptoms of a chlamydial infection. Additionally, if individuals are experiencing any symptoms of chlamydial infections, they should seek medical care quickly. Sexual partners should be notified if they have had recent contact with an infected individual.

Patients with gonorrhea have a 30%-50% chance of being coinfected with chlamydia. However, the reverse is not true. Patients with chlamydial infections have a less than 1% chance of being coinfected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

How Is Chlamydia Diagnosed And Treated

If you have chlamydia symptoms or had intercourse with someone without protection, you should inform your doctor about testing or take a home chlamydia test.

Chlamydia can be detected at home. You should get a chlamydia test kit and use urine for your test.

However, if you have oral chlamydia symptoms, you may need to see your doctor for throat swab culture. The culture of chlamydia takes about 3 7 days.

If diagnosed with chlamydia, you can easily be treated and cured with azithromycin or doxycycline tablets.

During pregnancy, chlamydia infection can be treated safely with azithromycin.

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How Is Chlamydia Treated

The following are the recommended treatment regimens for chlamydia according to the Guidelines for Sexually Transmitted Diseases, released in 2015, but still considered current. Only one regimen should be chosen.

• Azithromycin 1 gram orally as a single dose
• OR

• Ofloxacin 300 mg orally twice a day for 7 days.

What Happens If You Dont Seek Treatment

If you take your antibiotics as directed, chlamydia is likely to go away. But if its left untreated, it can cause a few complications.

For example, if you have a vulva, you could develop pelvic inflammatory disease . PID is a painful infection that could damage your uterus, cervix, and ovaries.

Untreated chlamydia can also lead to scarred fallopian tubes, which can cause infertility.

If youre pregnant, untreated chlamydia can be transmitted to the baby during vaginal delivery. Chlamydia can cause eye infections and pneumonia in newborns.

Untreated chlamydia can lead to epididymitis, which is when the epididymis becomes inflamed, causing pain.

Chlamydia can also spread to the prostate gland, which can lead to painful sex, lower back pain, and a fever.

Fortunately, treatment for chlamydia is relatively straightforward. And if its treated quickly, youre unlikely to experience any long-term complications.

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Sex Partners Need Treatment Too

If you are diagnosed with chlamydia, you will need to tell all of your sexual partners, because they will need the same treatment you are receiving.

In most states, a doctor or other healthcare provider can give you the medicine that your partner or partners will need to take. Then you can deliver it to those partners. This practice is called expedited partner therapy or patient delivered partner therapy.

These options can help a lot if your partner doesnt have a healthcare provider or feels embarrassed about seeking care, says Dr. Dombrowski.

Its natural to feel nervous or upset about having to tell your partner or partners about having an STD. Your healthcare provider can help with this problem. They may even rehearse the conversation with you, says Dombrowksi.

Learning about chlamydia and seeking advice from a healthcare provider about how to discuss it with your partner can help you handle the conversation with less anxiety and more confidence.

Remember, chlamydia is not just common: It is the most common infection reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . You are being helpful, mature, and responsible by telling your partners.

What Is The Dosage Of Azithromycin For Chlamydia

The recommended dosage of azithromycin for chlamydia is 1 gram as a single dose. This dose may be taken morning or night and can be taken with or without food. Another name for azithromycin is Zithromax.

If you have taken your dose of azithromycin on an empty stomach and your stomach has become a bit upset or you feel sick, it is Ok to eat some food, which may help to settle it.

A 500mg dose of azithromycin is not recommended by guidelines to cure chlamydia. There is also a chance it may increase the risk of C. trachomatis bacteria becoming resistant to it. If you have only taken or only been prescribed a 500mg dose of azithromycin, you need to return to your doctor to get a 1 gram dose prescribed. You should never share your dose of azithromycin with another person.

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What Exactly Causes Chlamydia

A type of bacterium called Chlamydia trachomatis causes chlamydia. This bacterium can take hold in the tissues of your genitals, anus, eyes, or throat.

Its usually transmitted from one person to another during penetrative vaginal or anal sex or oral sex, although sex without penetration can also transmit it.

Chlamydia can also be transmitted to a baby during vaginal delivery if the person giving birth has an untreated chlamydia infection.

How Long Does It Take To Get Rid Of Chlamydia

By | Aug. 24, 2010, 11:11 a.m.

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How long does it take to get rid of chlamydia?

It depends. If youre diagnosed with chlamydia, your health care provider will probably prescribe an antibiotic. In some cases, treatment is possible with a single dose of medication in the health care providers office. Other medications must be taken for seven days. Its important to make sure that you take the antibiotic exactly as directed for as long as its prescribed even if your symptoms go away. Avoid having sex until your treatment is complete and the infection is cured. Its also important to let your sex partner know that you have chlamydia so they can get tested and treated, too. Some health care providers will give you medications to take home to your partner.

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection thats caused by a type of bacteria called chlamydia trachomatis. Both women and men can get it by having unprotected vaginal or anal sex with an infected partner. It can also be spread from a woman to her fetus during birth, and rarely, from the hand to the eye and, less likely, during unprotected oral sex. Each year, more than three million people of all ages become infected with chlamydia.

Tags:STDs, chlamydia

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When To See A Doctor

If a person has symptoms of chlamydia after testing and treatment or thinks that they have come into contact with chlamydia again, they should see their doctor.

Females are less likely than males to have symptoms of chlamydia, so testing is especially important for them.

The recommend chlamydia testing every year for the following groups of people:

• sexually active females under the age of 25 years
• females over the age of 25 years who have new or multiple sexual partners
• anyone with a sexual partner who has an STI
• sexually active gay and bisexual males

Pregnant women should have a chlamydia test early on in their pregnancy.

Does Chlamydia Treatment Have Side Effects

An antibiotic called Doxycycline is the most common medicine used to treat chlamydia. Like most medicines, it can cause mild side effects. The most common side effects of Doxycycline are nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, loss of appetite, mild diarrhea, skin rash or itching, change in skin color, vaginal itching, or discharge. These side effects should go away after you finish taking the medicine. Talk to your nurse or doctor about any medicines youre already taking and any medical issues you already have before taking Doxycycline.

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What’s The Treatment For Chlamydia

Chlamydia is treated with antibiotics. If you take the treatment according to instructions, its over 95% effective at treating chlamydia.

• Youll be given a course of antibiotics for 3 or 7 days or sometimes up to two weeks.
• If theres a high chance you have chlamydia, treatment may be started before the results of the test are back. Youll always be given treatment if a sexual partner is found to have chlamydia.
• You may also need other treatment if complications have occurred.
• Tell the doctor or nurse if youre pregnant, or think you might be, or youre breastfeeding. This may affect the type of antibiotic youre given.
• Complementary therapies cant cure chlamydia.

What Are The Symptoms

The symptoms of chlamydia are variable. For many guys it can go unnoticed, especially if the infection is in the throat or arse, which is why its important to test for STIs regularly if youre sexually active.

Symptoms can appear anywhere between two to 21 days and range from being mildly annoying or even painful. Some symptoms include:

• A white, cloudy or watery discharge from the tip of your dick
• Itching, discomfort or a burning sensation when you piss
• Pain, swelling and redness of the balls
• Pain, burning, redness, tingling or itching along the urethra
• Pain, discharge or bleeding from your arse

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How Can I Tell My Partner Will They Think I’ve Cheated On Them

You may feel embarrassed, scared or angry. However it is important and respectful to let your partner know as soon as possible so they can get tested and treated. Remember that chlamydia often has no symptoms, so a diagnosis doesn’t necessarily mean the infection was caught recently. You may not be sure when you were exposed. Many people are surprised how supportive their partner is, and how they appreciate being confided in.

Put Sex On Hold During And After Chlamydia Treatment

If you were given a single dose of antibiotics to treat your chlamydia, you should not have any kind of sex for a full seven days after the day you took the medicine. If youre taking antibiotics for a week, wait another seven days after the last day of your treatment. Be sure to take all of the medicine that is prescribed for you.

Not having sex for seven days after treatment is important so you dont spread the infection to your partner or partners.

Medication stops the infection and can keep you from spreading the disease, but it wont cure any permanent damage that the infection caused before you started treatment. In women, such damage can include blocking the fallopian tubes, causing infertility.

If you still have symptoms for more than a few days after you stop taking your medicine, go back to see your doctor or other healthcare provider so they can check you again.

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Do I Need To Have A Test To Check That The Chlamydia Has Gone

If you take the treatment according to the instructions, you wont usually need a test to check the chlamydia has gone.

If youre aged under 25, you should be offered a repeat test 3 months after finishing the treatment. This is because youre at a higher risk of getting chlamydia again.

Whatever your age, you may need a repeat test or more treatment if:

• you think youve come into contact with chlamydia again
• you had sex without a condom with a partner before the treatment for both of you was finished
• you didnt complete the treatment or didnt take it according to the instructions
• the signs and symptoms dont go away
• your test was negative but you develop signs or symptoms of chlamydia
• youre pregnant.

A repeat test can be done 56 weeks after the first test.

If the chlamydia was in your rectum , you may need another test around 3 weeks after finishing the treatment. Your doctor, nurse or clinic will let you know if you need another test.

You can go back to the doctor, nurse or clinic if you have any questions or need advice on how to protect yourself from infection in the future.